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In light of the German auto industry's buoyant earnings, politicians from the ruling coalition suggested Tuesday that the companies repay the money they earned during the government-sponsored “cash for clunkers” stimulus programme in 2009.

Altogether the German government allocated €5 billion for the popular programme, enough to fund the €2,500-subsidy for two million new cars. Applicants junked cars at least nine-years-old to get new vehicles with the Abwrackprämie, part of the government's second stimulus package.

Since then Germany car companies have reported steadily increasing sales, prompting Christian Democratic (CDU) budgetary policy expert Alexander Funk to tell daily Bild that Berlin should call on the auto industry to take part in paying for the programme.

Daniel Volk, member of the CDU's junior coalition party the pro-business Free Democrats and member of the parliamentary budgetary committee, said German taxpayer should not have to bear the burden for benefiting the industry.

“The auto industry is the great profiteer of the car scrapping premium, for which the German taxpayers carried the costs,” he told Bild. “It is time that the branch takes on a portion of this.”